I'm Not A Robot...Okay?

In my social media solitude, I've begun to regularly revisit the blogs of bloggers that were favorites of mine.  Sadly, as I've noted before, most of them have stopped using their blogs, opting for the instant gratification of Facebook.  Admittedly, I've been guilty of that myself.  Something I hope to rectify in the days and weeks to come.

Taking a break from the incessant babble has been hard, though I honestly don't know why.  I suppose it is much like withdrawals from a substance that you know is bad for you, but you just can't seem to break from.  While I miss the ease with which you're able to connect with those close to you, or those you truly consider actual friends, because whether we want to admit it or not, we are social creatures, sometimes it is heartbreaking to know that in the big picture, you're not really all that important "out there".

The truth is, we all want to belong.  We all want to believe that we have a voice and that someone's listening.  Why do we connect with any kind of social media at all if that's not the case?  Yes, there are those who only use their pages as a means to get their product seen, whether that product is something tangible or not.  Many times, the product is just the people themselves.  "Here I am!  Look at me!  Hear what I say!  Respond!  Comment!  Like me.  Oh please, please like me!"  In turn, we behave like Pavlov's dog; salivating to have the best reponse or offer up bits of knowledge or wisdom as if those bits haven't already been offered up in sacrifice last week, yesterday, today, even minutes ago.   

Many are the times I have rolled my eyes at something someone has posted, judging them harshly in my head, and wondering why, over and over again, I waste my time.  Then, I look over the comments and notice that the "sage wisdom" is repeated by more than one person.  Which leads me to the conclusion that even in comments, no one is reading what the prior person said.  They don't care what the prior person said, they just want to get their opinion out there.  I liken it to being in an actual conversation with someone who repeatedly interrupts what you're saying.  They aren't listening at all to what you say.  They're too busy thinking about what they want to say and they can't wait until you stop moving your lips so that they can interject.  It's a jockeying for position.  SEE ME!  HERE I AM!

So, I retreat, and again, I'm guilty that even in my retreat, I yearn to connect somehow.  So I amend my withdrawal from Facebook by saying; "Oh, well I won't Facebook.  Unless I write a blogpost.  Then I'll link it.  Then, at least, people will know I'm still alive."  I guess it's kind of a lifeline, of sorts.

Which brings me back to the original reason I was writing this post.  I noticed while revisiting blogs, that everyone seems to have this comment moderator thing.  You have to enter a captcha in order for your comment to "count".  Some number/word (if you can call it that) combination that "proves" you're not a robot.  It's kinda frustrating.  No, not kinda.  It's fucking frustrating.  I hate it.  The image is never clear, it's always fuzzy.  The letters run together, the "word" makes no sense, so you end up guessing as to what it might be.  If you don't get it right, it tells you and makes you do it over again.  *sigh*   I'd probably have better luck if I WERE a robot.

Damned if you do and damned if you don't.  The funny thing is, I've got no comment moderator on my commenter.  Never have.  But then again, you'd kinda need commenters, and most of those have, as you know, moved over to Facebook.